<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Red washcloths and Bloody knuckles. by BadBoyDeanAsf</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22711741">Red washcloths and Bloody knuckles.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadBoyDeanAsf/pseuds/BadBoyDeanAsf'>BadBoyDeanAsf</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Diners, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Richie Tozier, Boys In Love, Cute Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Derry (Stephen King), Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier-centric, Emotional Hurt, Endgame Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Fluff, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Insecure Eddie Kaspbrak, Insecure Richie Tozier, Instant Messaging, M/M, Ninties, Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, POV Third Person, Richie Tozier &amp; Stanley Uris Are Best Friends, Richie Tozier Flirts, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is Whipped, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Romantic Soulmates, Soft Eddie Kaspbrak, Soft Richie Tozier, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Summer, Summer Vacation, Teen Richie, The Losers Club (IT) Stay in Derry, landlines, soul marks, teen Eddie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 14:14:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,185</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22711741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadBoyDeanAsf/pseuds/BadBoyDeanAsf</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>This shit should’ve been easy, y’know? You pretend to date your best friend so everyone else thinks you have found your soulmate. Richie had been praying for years that he would find the person made specifically for him. However at seventeen and he had yet to have his soulmark- It was concerning, He was starting to think that.. Maybe, Well maybe he was just one of the unlucky few that never found their other half.</p><p>So the plan came along easily, One day- He was sprawled out on his bed, His best friend. It was late August and he was fucking melting in the heat, Eddie had his legs on top of Richie’s just laid out trying to cool off, With a Comic held above his face.</p><p>Richie wasn’t as easily distracted that day, He was lost in thought, His music blaring- He prefered loud obnoxious songs any day compared to silence. Yet, His thoughts were running rampant. </p><p>“Eds, Do you think I’ll ever find my soulmate?” The question had Eddie seizing.</p><p>“Yeah, Obviously..Everyone has them.” He dropped his comic down onto the bed and sat himself up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak &amp; Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>139</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>IT ❀ Valentine's Day Fic Exchange</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAliceLilith/gifts">DarkAliceLilith</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Heyo! So I joined this valentines gift exchange, and I did like a mix of fake dating and soulmates and I kinda love it! </p><p>Leave kudos and comments.</p><p>Love you all! &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>              <strong> T</strong>his shit should’ve been easy, y’know? You pretend to date your best friend so everyone else thinks you have found your soulmate. Richie had been praying for years that he would find the person made specifically for him. However at seventeen and he had yet to have his soulmark- It was concerning, He was starting to think that.. Maybe, Well maybe he was just one of the unlucky few that never found their other half.</p><p>So the plan came along easily, One day- He was sprawled out on his bed, His best friend. It was late August and he was fucking melting in the heat, Eddie had his legs on top of Richie’s just laid out trying to cool off, With a Comic held above his face.<br/>
Richie wasn’t as easily distracted that day, He was lost in thought, His music blaring- He prefered loud obnoxious songs any day compared to silence. Yet, His thoughts were running rampant. </p><p>“Eds, Do you think I’ll ever find my soulmate?” The question had Eddie seizing.</p><p>“Yeah, Obviously..Everyone has them.” He dropped his comic down onto the bed and sat himself up.</p><p>“I don’t think you need to worry about it, Rich.” Eddie tried to look at Richie with a reassuring smile, However it came out as more of a worried and scrunched up face- The smile looked, Well, Forced.</p><p>Richie tilted his head back, Looking up at his ceiling, “If you got your soulmark, You would tell me right?”<br/>
Eddie gave Richie a reassuring nod, He swung his legs to dangle over the bed. He watched as Eddie toed on his shoes.</p><p>“Its about four Rich, I gotta run.” He paused as he walked towards the door, Turning his head back to wave at Richie- “See ya tomorrow morning?”</p><p>Richie felt his heart drop, knowing that his best friend had to leave and that he would have to go back to that house, Wait no- Prison.</p><p>“I’ll pick you up in the mornin’ like usual.”</p><p>When Eddie had left, Closing his door and making his way out of the Tozier residence, Richie mulled around a few ideas. He had no choice but to get advice from his smartest and unfortunately always correct friend.</p><p>He turned around flipping himself over towards the nightstand, Quickly grabbing his mustered yellow receiver and dialing stan’s number.</p><p>The ringing stopped only after the third ring and he heard the shuffling of the phone being passed and then the oh so serious voice that he had come to endure.</p><p>“Rich, My mom said it was your house number- Whats up?”</p><p>Richie gave a large grin- Even though he knew Stan wasn’t able to see it.<br/>
“Staniel, I need advice.”</p><p>Stan let out a groan, Richie could practically see him rolling his eyes.</p><p>“ I- Im gonna ask Eds’ to date me, not for real, but just till we get our soul marks.” He stated, Shrugging even though he knew his best friend couldn’t see him.</p><p>“Rich, Thats a terrible Idea- Plus Ed-” He heard Stan stop himself.</p><p>“Eddie what?” </p><p>Stan cleared his throat over the receiver and heard his voice come out rushed, “Nothing! Eddie nothing! Uh- Rich I gotta go.” </p><p>Richie heard the line go dead and he stared at the phone with complete shock, Stan only really ever hung up on him when he was extremely annoyed or He was hiding something. The last thought was completely ludicrous to Richie, The losers rarely kept secrets from each other. Although he and Stan had been best friends since Kindergarten they had only hid a few secrets from each other, most of which came out in the open within hours. </p><p>Except for that one secret.</p><p>The one secret that Richie had buried so deep, that he hoped it would eventually disappear from his mind all together. It seemed that wasn’t ever going to be the case, because he had known Eddie his entire life and had never stopped thinking about him since the day he met him. Of course the thoughts had changed drastically over the course of the years, and so had his feelings- He had loved Eddie since the very beginning but then he was in love with Eddie and it had never gone away.<br/>
He had the thought of asking Eddie out since he had figured out what it had meant.</p><p>So he was actually doing this- He was putting this plan into motion, Because if Eddie said yes, Well at least he would have had the boy of his dreams for a little while- Even if they weren’t soulmates. </p><p>Richie wasn’t exactly sure how anybody in the world could ever beat Eddie Kaspbrak, the love of his life, His companion- And in his own point of view, Eddie was his soulmate- Even if a mark didn’t confirm that thought. He knew he wouldn’t be Eddie’s but He knew Eddie was his. </p><p>He rolled off his bed, only then noticing the sweat covered shirt was sticking to his skin, <em>‘gross’</em>- was the only word that seeped into his mind as he pulled it away from his skin attempting to air it out. He gave the empty room a wide grin. </p><p>He only walked thee few feet to his beat up computer chair, clicking the spacebar to wake it from its sleep and opened his I.M.’s. </p><p>
  <strong>-TrashmouthT Has logged on-</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>-EddieK is currently online-</strong>
</p><p><strong>:TrashmouthT:</strong> Eds’ I got an importante’ question.</p><p><strong>:EddieK:</strong> Rich, I literally just left your house? What do you want?</p><p>Richie huffed out a laugh at Eddie’s response. </p><p><strong>:TrashmouthT:</strong> Eddie, Go out with me? Just until we find our soulmarks?</p><p><strong>:EddieK:</strong> You’re serious?</p><p><strong>:TrashmouthT:</strong> I mean, If you want me to be? </p><p><strong>:TrashmouthT:</strong> If you want it to be fake..</p><p>.Great.</p><p>Hes double messaging now.</p><p>
  <strong>.@EddK is typing…</strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. two.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>:@EddieK is typing…</strong>
</p><p>Eddie looked down at the keys having absolutely no idea what to say to Richie. His best friend was asking him out- The same boy who Eddie met while he was trying to eat a worm, The same boy who spit in his hand and then tried to shake Eddie’s own. This disgusting, arrogant, flirtatious boy was asking Eddie Kaspbrak out, Richard Wentworth Tozier, was asking him out- His best friend.</p><p>Eddie had to contemplate multiple things before he could even fathom typing out a response for Richie. There were way too many things to think about, So many factors- And if anyone knew Eddie even the slightest bit they knew that Eddie needed to file through every single fact about a situation before he made any decision. </p><p>However anyone who knew Richie Tozier- And Eddie most definitely knew Richie. He knew exactly what Richie was doing at this moment. Richie didn’t do silence, He didn’t do no responses, and he most definitely didn’t take chances like this often- Especially with Eddie. </p><p>Richie was always so careful with Eddie, He was always concerned. Richie always made sure that Eddie was okay first and foremost. Richie Tozier took care of him, and not in the false way his mother did. Richie really took care of him, He never thought Eddie was weak or fragile. He knew that no one had ever taken care of him or looked out for him the way that Richie does.<br/>Richie Tozier, Well- He was different. Richie Tozier knew him- He knew him more than anyone ever has in his entire life. Rich, Well he knew Eddie’s favorite food, What he was allergic to- He knew that Eddie wasn’t truly asthmatic yet he carried around a spare inhaler just in case he had a spontaneous panic attack- Or in the most common cases a not so spontaneous one, usually caused by a one Henry Bowers’ who seemed to never mellow out over the years and his bad temper and attitude towards all the losers’ never seemed to go away and it only grew. </p><p>This boy, this absolutely beautiful, genuine, crazy, and well- disgusting boy- He was asking him out- And Richie even gave him an out, He told him it could be fake if he really wanted it to be. </p><p>The thing was- Well, For Eddie it couldn’t be fake, Maybe not ever. For as long as Eddie remembered, Richie had been by his side. Taking care of him and loving him, and when he finally got his soulmark- it just confirmed everything Eddie had ever thought of Richie.</p><p>So to be blunt- In his own fucking thoughts, Richie was his soulmate. His very own person specifically for him. Eddie loved this boy- And he wished and prayed that Richie may love him just as much as Eddie loves Richie.</p><p>He scoffed at the thought, <em>‘Richie love me?’</em> </p><p>.’Just until we find our soulmarks.’<br/>Yeah.. Well apparently Richie may be meant for Eddie, but Eddie didn’t seem to be made for Richie- If he was..Well wouldn’t he have gotten his soulmark already? Wouldn’t his eyes be open and they would be together? </p><p>Eddie knew though, this was his chance, this was his chance to atleast have Richie now, While Richie had absolutely no idea who his soulmate was. In reality he knew that Richie’s soulmate was probably a blonde bimbo with huge boobs that one day Richie would absolutely worship.</p><p>Eddie rolled his eyes, He supposed he had taken enough time thinking of all the statistics and facts that he could pull out of his mind. </p><p>His fingers hit the keys fast and hard, and part of him didn’t even process what he was going to say in his response, but apparently his heart was doing the talking for him now.</p><p><strong>:EddieK:</strong> Bring it, Me and you now have a standing date. </p><p><strong>.@TrashmouthT</strong> is typing..</p><p>‘Holy shit, hes responding’ His brain started buzzing with endless thoughts.</p><p><strong>:TrashmouthT:</strong> Holy shit, You actually said yes.</p><p>Eddie rolled his eyes at the thought of Richie’s shocked face, This boy was dumb as dirt. Why did he love him again?</p><p><strong>:EddieK:</strong> Yes, I did, fucktard.</p><p><strong>:TrashmouthT:</strong> Fuck off, Spaghetti.</p><p><strong>:EddieK:</strong> See you in the morning, Boyfriend.</p><p>
  <strong>.@EddieK... has signed off.</strong>
</p><p>Alright, So he’s now dating Richie Tozier, His best friend and his personal soulmate.</p><p>He knew it was still daylight, and it was bright as fuck- It was going to be that way for many, many, more hours- considering it was august- But he was just so fucking excited now! His lifelong dream was coming true. </p><p>Don’t get Eddie wrong, He has plenty of other dreams. He wants to be a surgeon, and he has plenty of personal goals.. Which seems to mostly involve Richie- Its not even his fault, its just that Richie is always fucking with him, So sue him!</p><p>One of his most important goals/dreams was to leave this godforsaken town and his mother behind him. He wanted to move as far away as possible- And Richie seemed to have an idea where he wanted to go, and Eddie was hellbent on going with Richie- Come hell or high water. </p><p>Which in his case, Hell and highwater would be preferred to his mother.</p><p>Richie wanted to go to California and pursue a career in Comedy, And although Eddie would constantly tell him how awful his voices and jokes were- When they were alone- Maybe in Eddie’s room, Or sometimes Richie’s, In the middle of the night..Richie and Eddie would confess some of their deepest secrets and Eddie had even told him how he secretly enjoyed all of Richie’s jokes..Even the crued ones.<br/>Eddie had this picture perfect dream of the two of them moving into an apartment together, Maybe not a nice one at first..But he hoped that maybe as things progressed and their dreams came true- They’d be able to afford something better, and build a life together. The one that they’ve both always dreamt of.</p><p>So at least maybe one of his dreams would come true, Even if it was only for a little while.</p><p>For a little while, Richie Tozier was his- And it wasn’t just a dream.</p><p>So Eddie did the only thing he could to quell his anxiety, He snuggled up in his blankets, turned to his blue cornered wall and fell asleep, Ignoring the constant talking and rambles of jeopardy coming from all the way downstairs. </p><p>One day..One day he wouldn’t hear that shit anymore. Hopefully one day maybe he would fall asleep to Richie’s jokes and rambles in his ear.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. three.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richie showed up at his house a quarter after one, Because for Richie that was morning. In Eddie’s personal opinion, Morning started at exactly six a.m., Richie seemed to think that any time before twelve p.m. was considered the crack of dawn. </p><p>By the time Richie was parked in front of his house, Eddie had eaten breakfast, read the last couple chapters of gone with the wind, and had taken a shower, gotten dressed and taken a jog around the couple blocks surrounding his home.</p><p>He took his time on each step down the stairs, landing on each one lightly, trying not to make a single noise. He was praying by the time he got out the door his mother wouldn’t even notice he was gone. He couldn’t stand the thought of his mother catching Eddie jumping into Richie’s beat up truck and his mother completely chewing him out about it.</p><p>He knew his mother would go absolutely ballistic, He knew that she hated Richie Tozier more than any other person in the entire town of Derry. She had coined him ‘The dirty Tozier boy’ before they even turned four. </p><p>Which at the time made a little more since considering Richie spent the majority of their early childhood rolling around in mud, and basically any gross substance he could find. His mother had witnessed Richie trying to give Eddie a mud pie for ‘desert’, and she had grabbed Richie by the ear and dragged him down the street to the Tozier residence.<br/>Eddie had cried that day, He was so scared that he would never be able to talk to Richie again. However that’s when his best friend had taken to learning to climb up trees to sneak up into Eddie’s room. A habit that has never gone away, Many things had changed since then, But Richie always ended up in Eddie’s room at night- More times than not to comfort Eddie than comfort himself.</p><p>He turned the door knob as slow and silent as possible, quickly making his way out the door and down the driveway, He swung open the passenger door hopping into his own seat and giving Richie a warm grin. </p><p>“Spaghetti! Fine mornin’ dontcha think?”</p><p>“I dunno Rich? Is it a good morning? Because it technically isn’t even morning anymore.” </p><p>“Well, I’d have to say its been a pretty good morning for me, I woke up at seven- To some seriously unusual events.” Richie smirked as he put the car into drive and sped down the block. </p><p>Eddie already knew where they were headed, considering they went to the diner every morning during the summer, usually alternating on who pays. Although more recently Richie’s been increasing his stubbornness to pay for Eddie, no matter how many times Eddie disagrees.</p><p>Eddie’s interest was piqued by the time they had arrived at the “Derry Delicious Diner” and his mind was riddled with questions and thoughts.</p><p>“You know any morning you get up before twelve is an unusual event.” Eddie commented as he hopped out of the truck and raced towards the glass door before Richie could open it for him- Which had been another recently frequent occurrence.</p><p>“Yeah well this one was super unusual, Eds’.” Richie countered.</p><p>Eddie’s only real response to Richie’s words was to roll his eyes and plop onto the red vinyl booth, He watched as Richie slid into the bench opposite to him.<br/>“Can you just tell me, already?” He questioned, “The suspense is now killing me.” </p><p>“Well..If you must know, I finally got this-” Richie punctuated the end of his sentence by rolling up his sleeve- Why Richie was wearing a long sleeved shirt in august was a mystery to him..But the real mystery that was bouncing in his head was solved within seconds as he looked down at Richie’s arm.</p><p>Needless to say, Eddie choked on his own spit.</p><p>In front of him, On Richie’s pale ass arm was a soulmark. Richie was grinning so wide- That Eddie wanted to be happy for him. At first he really only recognized it as just a soulmark and nothing more, with no meaning towards him. </p><p>Yet when he inspected closer, grabbing Richie’s wrist gently and pulling his wrist towards him. He actually took a moment to inspect the details, Detailed on Richie’s arm was an heavily detailed image, it wasn’t bold or brash like most were- But then again neither was Eddie’s. When he had actually gathered what the messy lines were, It was a hand, One with familiar freckles and a recognizable wash cloth grasped in the hand. </p><p>Thats when it hit Eddie, the similarity between their marks. </p><p>From what’s been passed down through the generations is your soulmark will be images that represent the most sacred moments of the intended relationship between you and your soulmate.</p><p>The image on Eddie’s own arm was the other half of the image and memory. </p><p>If Eddie recalls correctly and believe him- He does.<br/>‘ Richie had climbed through Eddie’s window- and unlike all the other times he had witness Richie make that climb into his room, It wasn’t the middle of the night. It was broad daylight out about an hour after school. </p><p>Richie had popped his head in, Asking Eddie if the coast was clear before he stepped foot into the room. The day that he had come in, Eddie’s mom had gone to some church bingo event. </p><p>Eddie had only then turned around to answer him- The image he had received was burnt into his brain for the last couple of years. </p><p>The sight of Richie Tozier in his window was jaw dropping, Richie’s hair was matted with blood and he had a split lip, along with tattered knuckles. </p><p>That’s where he supposes the image and soulmarks come in.</p><p>Richie’s image and mark on his arm was very much Eddie’s hand his red washcloth that he had used that day to clean Richie’s knuckles.</p><p>Eddie’s own mark was a hand that looked remarkably like Richie’s destroyed hand and knuckles,It even detailed the Ring on Richie’s thumb and ring finger.</p><p>So yeah, Maybe Richie Tozier was his soulmate after all.</p><p>So maybe, Just maybe, He would end up in California in a shitty apartment with Richie Tozier. </p><p>Maybe he’ll end up going to a University and start a career in surgery.</p><p>Maybe- Wait no- Most definitely Richie will end up a famous comedian, And now he knew he would be waiting behind the curtain at every show cheering his soulmate on.</p><p>So yeah, Richie Tozier was the love of his life- And yeah, Richie Tozier was also his soulmate.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed! &lt;3333</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>